No. 14 Mustangs take No. 6 Statesmen to brink

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — In a tightly contested Top 15 matchup Friday night, 14th-ranked Morningside came up just short in five sets against No. 6 William Penn inside Allee Gym.

The Statesmen outlasted the Mustangs (12-2, 1-1 HAAC) 23-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 15-12.

Despite the loss, Natan Alves etched his name in program history. With 18 kills on the night, Alves became Morningside's all-time kills leader and now sits at 1,040 for his career.

The Mustangs were sharp early, hitting better than .300 in each of the first two sets. In the opener, Morningside built an early four-point lead and held off a late push from the Statesmen. Mohamed Benkrid and Alves delivered back-to-back kills to seal the set as the Mustangs hit .333 in the frame.

Set 1 (M��): No. 14 Morningside 25, William Penn 23

Alves ended it with this kill, assisted by Tucker Juhnke! Morningside also hit .333 during the set. pic.twitter.com/uY1b9EACIZ

— Morningside Scoreboard (@MsideScoreboard) February 14, 2026

Morningside carried that momentum into the second set, jumping ahead 16-8 behind two kills from Ferdinando Vinti and a service ace from Tucker Juhnke. Benkrid closed the set with a kill off an assist from Lucca Stoelinga. The Mustangs ended up hitting .364 in that set.

Set 2 (M��): No. 14 Morningside 25, No. 6 William Penn 19. Benkrid ended it with this play below! @msidemvb pic.twitter.com/HNaSDwrtG0

— Morningside Scoreboard (@MsideScoreboard) February 14, 2026

William Penn answered in the final three sets, narrowly edging the Mustangs down the stretch.

Mauro Verstraeten recorded 12 kills, while Benkrid added 11. The Mustangs totaled four service aces, with Braden Maneja, Michael Padilla, Alves and Juhnke each contributing one.

Malu Wilcox led the offense with 31 assists, followed by Stoelinga with 23.

Defensively, Juhnke paced Morningside with 28 digs. Alves added 13, and Wilcox chipped in 12.